Pelicans' Redick: Players have 'no comfort level' in returning to play

New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard JJ Redick is ready for the NBA to return to action, but he's under no illusions about the surrounding circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing social unrest in the United States.

The sharpshooter said Friday that the events of the past month-plus have put that in perspective.

"We started seeing that momentum that we were gonna maybe play. It seemed like we had bent the curve a little bit," told reporters, including ESPN's Malika Andrews. "And then all of a sudden, George Floyd gets murdered, Breonna Taylor's murdered, the tape of Ahmaud Arbery comes out.

"So, now we're dealing with this. And we're still trying to figure out the logistics of playing. And then this second wave has hit, for COVID. So, to say that we have any sort of comfort level would be a lie. There is no comfort level. We're not with our families, we're not at our homes, we're isolated in a bubble in the middle of a hot spot in the middle of Florida, while there's social unrest going on in the country and we're three months away from potentially the most important election in our lifetimes."

Redick, who missed the Pelicans' last five games before the NBA suspended play due to a hamstring injury, is recovered and ready to go. He added that he has lost 10 pounds during the hiatus, according to The Athletic's Will Guillory.

But he admits playing basketball under the present circumstances will be different.

"Now we have to figure out a way to perform and play basketball and all that, because I do believe it is the right thing to go and play," Redick said, per Andrews. "But there is absolutely no comfort level - none."